Karwin, St. Casimir (parish church) Neo-Gothic, built in 1915. Inside the neo-Gothic church, valuable sculptures from the 17th and 18th centuries have been preserved, as well as Renaissance stained glass windows of Pomeranian families from 1596.
The church in Karwin houses another important monument, the organ, which is a unique instrument built by the renowned master workshop "B. Gruneberg" from Szczecin. The B. Gruneberg organ building workshop from Szczecin was founded in 1854 by Carl Barnim Theodor Gruneberg. In a very short time, it gained a great reputation in this part of Europe, mainly due to the extremely durable materials that Master Gruneberg carefully selected for the construction of instruments. They consisted of: the highest quality wood for the construction of structural elements and specially selected metal for the construction of pipes. In combination with high-quality finishing, the Gruneberg organs are considered to be among the most durable instruments in the world. Characteristic of Barnim Gruneberg's work was the attention to every detail, and above all to the beauty of the organ's sound, which was admired by composers and organists of the time. The most outstanding organs built by B. Gruneberg's workshop included the great "princely" organ in Neustrelitz (Germany), dedicated to the then Grand Duke von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, or the mighty organ in the Holy Trinity Church in Liepāja (Latvia), which is still the largest mechanical organ in the world today. After Barnim's death, his two sons took over the business. The end of the company came in 1943, when the "Total War" declared by Hitler made further work in the field of organ building impossible. In total, the workshop built almost 1,000 organs. It is estimated that about half of them have survived. Instruments signed by the B. Gruneberg factory can be found mainly in the areas of Western Pomerania, Kashubia, Masuria, Wielkopolska, Lubusz Land and Silesia, as well as in Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and the Republic of South Africa. Another important factor that distinguishes the instrument in Karviná is its state of preservation, which can be assessed as very good. This is an important factor, because this instrument is a real treasure trove of knowledge about how organs were built at that time, which is important from the point of view of the history of organ construction.
Translated by Google •
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